CFO -> VP of Ops

[Joe]

No way of knowing who you are when you post as a guest.

What's the safety hazard? Considering the prior management ignored it for a year, he's still got time to get it fixed and come out ahead.

As far as Amtrak getting it right, that's a complicated question that you could write a book about. The distilled answer is "mostly".

No way of knowing who you are when I post as a guest. All that is available to me is that you are an engineer.

Suffice it to say that I know of that which I speak. As far as my I.D.? I'm going to remain anonymous.....for now.

The safety hazard? It's been 18 months.I report it weekly ad nausem.

"Mostly"? Mostly wrong I will agree to.

Acela Express? Opinion ?

Operating employees training program? Opinion?

I would assume that you are reporting this safety hazard to your department and it has not been acted upon. In my experience that might indicate that someone has evaluated the hazard and doesn't agree with you regarding the serious nature of the issue. Why don't you try reporting to the IG? Is it an OSHA problem? It would,sure help your credibility on this board to describe the hazard. There are Amtrak employees who monitor the board and that could help escalate the solution.

The safety hazard will be handled. My intention was to show the insincerity of corporate mangement, in this case the newly appointed VP Operations. The company calls for employee input and when it is proffered they ignore it. The company preaches safety through expensive programs i.e. the $17 million layout for Safe2Safer and when one attempts to comply and report issues they are ignored.

As far as the poster who was inquiring as to my credibility. I have proof of all allegations I've posted here you can believe it or not I really don't care.

 

[Guest]

That's kind of the point I was trying to get at.

For clarity, I'm not an employee either -

Then why is Engineer and the Pennsy keystone in your sig? I see all kins of titles(Engineer,Conductor, OBS Chief, LSA etc.) on here. Are any of them valid?

 

[JayPea]

That's kind of the point I was trying to get at.

For clarity, I'm not an employee either -

Then why is Engineer and the Pennsy keystone in your sig? I see all kins of titles(Engineer,Conductor, OBS Chief, LSA etc.) on here. Are any of them valid?

These are all titles that have only to do with the number of posts a person has made. Absolutely nothing else to it. A certain number of posts garners a certain "title" here on AU. In my case, though I have the title of "engineer", believe me, given my dismal record at "being at the controls" of trains in computer simulations and also given the massive destruction I caused as a kid on my HO layout, no reputable railroad would want me anywhere near the cab of their locomotives. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Ryan]

The safety hazard will be handled. My intention was to show the insincerity of corporate mangement, in this case the newly appointed VP Operations.

If it's going to be handled, why bring it up? Doubly so when the current guy isn't the person responsible for ignoring it for a year. Sounds like he's doing a better job of his predecessor to me.

You can not care about your credibility all you want, but the road to being a poster whose opinions are taken seriously isn't paved with innuendo and opinions with nothing to back them up.

 

[Joe]

The safety hazard will be handled. My intention was to show the insincerity of corporate mangement, in this case the newly appointed VP Operations.

If it's going to be handled, why bring it up? Doubly so when the current guy isn't the person responsible for ignoring it for a year. Sounds like he's doing a better job of his predecessor to me.

You can not care about your credibility all you want, but the road to being a poster whose opinions are taken seriously isn't paved with innuendo and opinions with nothing to back them up.

Perhaps I should have been more clear. I am going to handle the safety hazard. The "current guy" certainly has not ignored it for a year but he has ignored it is my point.

As I stated before it is your option to believe or not believe and since I've found that none of you are railroad employees I see no reason why I have to worry about whether or not my posts are taken seriously.

 

[Ryan]

I guess that means you've got no reason to keep posting here, then.

 

[Blackwolf]

As I stated before it is your option to believe or not believe and since I've found that none of you are railroad employees I see no reason why I have to worry about whether or not my posts are taken seriously.

No, the majority of the people who post and frequent this forum are not railroad employees; we're the traveling public and the passengers who are the whole reason for Amtrak to exist. That being said, there are Amtrak employees, as well as the employees (still working and retired) of other rail agencies and freight operators, who do make a percentage of our ranks here.

 

[Ryan]

Also a good point. Some of the folks posting are even fairly senior.

 

[Joe]

I guess that means you've got no reason to keep posting here, then.

I thought I detected a confrontational tone in another of your posts and this one confirms it. You may be right however. Trying to have a lucid discussion concerning operations on a Class 1 railroad with folks who are only interested in the 'romance' of railroading is certainly a waste of time. If I choose to I will continue to post here in spite of what you "guess".

Also a good point. Some of the folks posting are even fairly senior.

"Fairly senior"? In what way? Age? Railroad seniority?

 

[Ryan]

I'm all for a lucid discussion, but that's hard to do when you're not very forthcoming with any facts. Spend some time here and you'll see that there's a good number of us that couldn't care less about "romance" and would love to have a detailed nuts and bolts discussion about whatever it is you're shadowboxing around.

If you want to post here and be taken seriously, make serious posts. You can't complain about the lack of serious discussion when you don't bring anything to the table.

As far as who's who around here, stick around and you'll figure out who the players are.

 

[VentureForth]

Give it a freakin' break, Ryan. If there is a safety issue that this guest who is posting anonymously fears could get him into trouble by making public, let it go.

I work for a major engineering and manufacturing company. Safety is our number one priority. If something happens, WE get a BIG black eye. No Government subsidy to bail us out of making stupid mistakes.

I believe that in the context of Joe's post, when "free money" is being doled out to pay for either capital improvements or operations, the accountability factor goes WAY down. Estimates are inflated and productivity is eliminated. Who cares? We'll get more money next year to fix the same problem again.

 

[PRR 60]

I guess that means you've got no reason to keep posting here, then.

You and I have every right to accept or not accept the guest's claims made in posts, but the guest has every right to post those positions as part of free and open discussion. The fact that we may or may not agree with those positions, or that we may or may not find enough specificity in his claims, is not cause for the guest to be told he has no reason to post here, and it is certainly not the position of the AU staff.

 

[jis]

I believe that in the context of Joe's post, when "free money" is being doled out to pay for either capital improvements or operations, the accountability factor goes WAY down. Estimates are inflated and productivity is eliminated. Who cares? We'll get more money next year to fix the same problem again.

I didn't realize that Amtrak has such a luxurious budget. Good to know though

 

[the_traveler]

I guess that means you've got no reason to keep posting here, then.

You and I have every right to accept or not accept the guest's claims made in posts, but the guest has every right to post those positions as part of free and open discussion. The fact that we may or may not agree with those positions, or that we may or may not find enough specificity in his claims, is not cause for the guest to be told he has no reason to post here, and it is certainly not the position of the AU staff.

And I also agree, not just as a moderator but also as an AU member. Every person has a right to his or her opinion. If you (anyone) disagrees with it, you do not need to respond or make a personal attack to them.

Please let's keep all future posts, in this thread and other threads civil.! :excl:

 

[Ryan]

I guess that means you've got no reason to keep posting here, then.

You and I have every right to accept or not accept the guest's claims made in posts, but the guest has every right to post those positions as part of free and open discussion. The fact that we may or may not agree with those positions, or that we may or may not find enough specificity in his claims, is not cause for the guest to be told he has no reason to post here, and it is certainly not the position of the AU staff.

What gives you the impression I was trying to speak on behalf of the AU staff?
My posts are my opinion only, and I stand by it. If you have something so sensitive that you can't share any details, keep your mouth shut. But if you're going to open your mouth and lob allegations of Amtrak management ignoring safety violations, then have the integrity to back those allegations up with verifiable facts.

I'm prepared to cut established posters with a history of supplying credible information such as yourself some slack, but I see no reason to trust a random guest poster that shows up and has no credibility whatsoever.

 

[jis]

I really think it is time for us to drop this and move on. I completely respect the guest's opinion that he does not care what anyone thinks of what he posts, and hence I have stopped responding, since the feeling has apparently evolved to be mutual. Nothing further is going to get resolved on that matter and actually none of us should really care either. A troll is a troll, just IMHO of course.

Perhaps time to lock the thread since all attempts to bring it back to some semblance of sanity by posting verifiable published information on the matter has failed. But nothing new, another thread derailed by a troll. Again IMHO of course.

 

[Ryan]

I really think it is time for us to drop this and move on. I completely respect the guest's opinion that he does not care what anyone thinks of what he posts, and hence I have stopped responding, since the feeling has apparently evolved to be mutual. Nothing further is going to get resolved on that matter and actually none of us should really care either. A troll is a troll, just IMHO of course.

Perhaps time to lock the thread since all attempts to bring it back to some semblance of sanity by posting verifiable published information on the matter has failed. But nothing new, another thread derailed by a troll. Again IMHO of course.

While I agree that this line of conversation is probably done (provided folks are done extracting their pound of flesh for my foolish insistence that posters back up their claims), I would would hope the lock can be avoided at least until you see Mr. Bowen this weekend and hopefully get a read on how things are going with DJ at the helm.

But, of that's just my opinion too.

 

[the_traveler]

I fully agree with Jis's post. It is time to move on and continue the original thought of this thread. Any deviation, especially any personal attacks, may result in this thread being locked - at least for a cooling off period, if not longer!

 

[Joe]

I really think it is time for us to drop this and move on. I completely respect the guest's opinion that he does not care what anyone thinks of what he posts, and hence I have stopped responding, since the feeling has apparently evolved to be mutual. Nothing further is going to get resolved on that matter and actually none of us should really care either. A troll is a troll, just IMHO of course.

Perhaps time to lock the thread since all attempts to bring it back to some semblance of sanity by posting verifiable published information on the matter has failed. But nothing new, another thread derailed by a troll. Again IMHO of course.

Are you calling me a troll? What is it you would like me to do? Identify myself, give my location and occupation, length of service etc.? Did it ever occur to you fellows that being as how I am an Amtrak employee and with the comments observations that I have made here that I would not be subject to some sort of retribution/retaliation? So again, I stand by what I have posted is true and again if you do not choose to believe it so be it.

Oh and Ryan? Perhaps some fiber in your diet would adjust your attitude. :giggle:

 

[oldtimer]

I am an Amtrak employee and with the comments observations that I have made here that I would not be subject to some sort of retribution/retaliation? So again, I stand by what I have posted is true and again if you do not choose to believe it so be it.

Oh and Ryan? Perhaps some fiber in your diet would adjust your attitude. :giggle:

As a former 35+ year employee of Amtrak I have to say that the fear of retribution and, or retaliation that "Joe" has is legitimate.

I can tell you that a safety defect that was outstanding for 6+ months resulted in an injury to an employee and cost Amtrak a 6 figure settlement.

There were actions that I would consider underhanded taken against the employee that reported the defect and the employee that was injured. Also it is interesting to note that no special notice was posted in the area of the defect and the injured employee was never given any verbal notice of the defect, as they worked for a different department.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

My job does not directly involve rail operations, but I am around active locomotives and rail cars from time to time when working at facilities I support. I'm also around heavy equipment that could turn me into ground meat if anything went seriously wrong. Even in my car I could be killed if I were impacted or run over by vehicles several times my car's size. It's part of the job that cannot be avoided and is usually safe so long as everyone's paying attention and following protocol. However, when basic safety and maintenance procedures are not followed it can make an otherwise safe job into an extremely dangerous one very quickly. That's something I would be concerned about just like anyone else. Sure, it would be great if everyone could state clearly and publicly everything that is wrong with their job without fear of any reprimand or retribution, but I cannot say I've ever worked at any job where that was the case. Apparently some of our contributors have worked at jobs where you can say whatever you want in public without fear of any punishment, but I would not expect that to be a common situation myself.

 

[OBS]

I really think it is time for us to drop this and move on. I completely respect the guest's opinion that he does not care what anyone thinks of what he posts, and hence I have stopped responding, since the feeling has apparently evolved to be mutual. Nothing further is going to get resolved on that matter and actually none of us should really care either. A troll is a troll, just IMHO of course.

Perhaps time to lock the thread since all attempts to bring it back to some semblance of sanity by posting verifiable published information on the matter has failed. But nothing new, another thread derailed by a troll. Again IMHO of course.

Are you calling me a troll? What is it you would like me to do? Identify myself, give my location and occupation, length of service etc.? Did it ever occur to you fellows that being as how I am an Amtrak employee and with the comments observations that I have made here that I would not be subject to some sort of retribution/retaliation? So again, I stand by what I have posted is true and again if you do not choose to believe it so be it.

Oh and Ryan? Perhaps some fiber in your diet would adjust your attitude. :giggle:

As an Amtrak employee, I have to completely agree with Joe's first paragraph. I totally understand the point he is trying to make and it is unfortunate that the troll word had to be thrown around.
Now, as to his original concern, about reporting a safety hazard and having it ignored... It won't be the first time I have seen this happen. Joe is obviously frustrated, and came here to voice his frustration.

 

[haolerider]

I really think it is time for us to drop this and move on. I completely respect the guest's opinion that he does not care what anyone thinks of what he posts, and hence I have stopped responding, since the feeling has apparently evolved to be mutual. Nothing further is going to get resolved on that matter and actually none of us should really care either. A troll is a troll, just IMHO of course.

Perhaps time to lock the thread since all attempts to bring it back to some semblance of sanity by posting verifiable published information on the matter has failed. But nothing new, another thread derailed by a troll. Again IMHO of course.

Are you calling me a troll? What is it you would like me to do? Identify myself, give my location and occupation, length of service etc.? Did it ever occur to you fellows that being as how I am an Amtrak employee and with the comments observations that I have made here that I would not be subject to some sort of retribution/retaliation? So again, I stand by what I have posted is true and again if you do not choose to believe it so be it.

Oh and Ryan? Perhaps some fiber in your diet would adjust your attitude. :giggle:

Probably time to shut this topic down. No progress is being made on the Guest poster's comments and we have seen no recent comments on the issue of a CFO being made Head of Operations.

 

[the_traveler]

I agree, and am locking this topic - at least temporarily pending moderator's review.